The tin-coloured speakers are certainly a nice attractive finish on that front, a good iteration.
Curious to see the actual 10th Anniversary system finish and colour in the flesh this part of the world if they ever arrive here, and my earlier sentiments / concerns here could well be unfounded.
What purpose would that really serve, for us customers? For me, Naim is Naim and Focal a separate sister entity. To combine both for branding purposes into a 2-in-1 doesnât strengthen perceptions in any manner imho.
Lange is Lange, and Jaeger is Jaeger, both belonging to Richemont. We donât see a fusing or combination of two entirely separate and established identities and they run independently and are marketed successfully as such. No one in the market audience need to be continually pummelled by âcontinual remindersâ of the Focal - Naim alliance being part of their parent group. Everyone here is well aware.
They have been trying to promote both together in hi-fi shows, and from what I have heard myself and read of feedback, I think both could be used with other complementary system makes that really bring out the flavour of each. Iâm sorry but so far, I have not been at all convinced they are necessarily the best match sonically, though they do exhibit some good sound when paired correctly together. I have nothing against Focal speakers; I just wish for more diverse pairings of Naim with other speaker makes at shows, and exhibitions other than just solely with Focal speakers, which seems really anaemic.
Which amplifiers has anyone heard, which bring out the best flavour in Focal speakers, apart from Naim?
Nice overall image⌠the components donât look âoffâ here as they did in the earlier images posted on this thread. They still seem rather dull in this muted-guise. Itâs funny because I love muted, and understatement, but itâs very subjective and personal now⌠I would like to see them upfront one day but do not think my initial reservations will change. And it doesnât matter, because Iâm not the target audience. Who is?
Aye. However they wouldnât have been differentiated for a 10th Partnership Anniversary commemorative system which is what Naim were trying to do.
Lange and Jaeger make the same type of product though, not complementary items.
But with this anniversary edition and the Focal/Naim stores itâs clear that they very much do want to sell as and are marketing as (lifestyle) âpackagesâ and not independent components for mix and match systems. As you say both brands are strong so I canât imagine them dropping either name, but I can imagine a consolidation.
You (and me) quite obviously wouldnât be the target audience of such a move.
Regarding which amps. I quite liked the NAD / Focal combo I had before moving to Naim (with B&W).
I guess you are not familiar with the BBC TV science fiction series Doctor Who. Its most fearsome and legendary villains are the Daleks, to whose travel machines the Focal Sopra N°2 loudspeaker bears an uncanny resemblance. The catchphrase of these villainous creatures was âYou will be exterminated,â bellowed at any life form that was not a Dalek.
@Clive was alluding to the fact that the BBC props department used a sink plunger and a whisk in the construction of the Dalek travel machine.
So my comment was a joke about how Naim ceased production of the Ovator loudspeaker range shortly after the merger with Focal. But if it takes 2 paragraphs of text to explain a joke, maybe the joke isnât very funny.
Apparently, the Linn K9 cartridge was so named because in the early engineering drawings it resembled the character of that name from the same series.
Friends of ours once had a Dalek in their house, somehow they ended up with it from the BBC. They terrified me as a child and it was most odd to see a real one some 40 years later. I thought you little comment was rather amusing, for what itâs worth.
I bet they will look much better in the flesh but unless future upgrades are available âbuild to orderâ in the same finish it seems an odd development.
I really canât see the demographic this is aimed at other than people who are pretty comfortable financially and want a very good system package chosen for them, something theyâd buy on a whim because they could afford it.
Unless you grew up in Britain at a particular time, youâre unlikely to get all the cultural allusions in my little joke. But I am guessing that the majority of the Naim Audio Community are part of that particular demographic.
Well, yes Iâm being a little cynical. Possibly a marketing gamble - if it works great as itâs additional sales to support Naim/Focal, though on a purely Naim basis I think many of us are hoping for more traditionally focussed developments.
As Iâve said further up, it seems to me less like a gamble (though it probably is to an extend) and more like trying some things without much risk. They probably know they find takers, itâs an established line of products just with a different color (so no large investments), and they might get some feedback out of it regarding what people think about future color options.
Itâs not putting the world on its head, but I donât think it was meant to. I believe we can be pretty sure that more exciting things will happen.
The speaker cabinets look like they had some really bad production issues, with failed finishes, and some bright spark said âHey, letâs market them as something special - I donât know, an anniversary or something?â
Why do the speaker cabinets look like they had production issues?
(Even if, I wouldnât have a problem with that if those that I buy look fine after reworking. Besides, things like that are probably not uncommon for special editions. If, say, a car manufacturer makes a special edition, they will also do it in a way that makes economic sense for them. E.g., add extras or use materials that they have in abundance and want to get rid of)
I too think theyâre on to something with the dust disguising finish (there was a post a some way up the thread). My black boxes all seem to turn grey remarkably quickly after the rare occasions I clean them. Perhaps they could offer a matt finished grey glass and grey matt shelves finished for Fraim while theyâre at it. Then instead of a duster you just need an effective static treatment for your records. A cationic surfactant works well unless thereâs some residual anionc surfactant on them, the combination leaves a deposit thatâs very hard to shift.